Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg is the Founder and Executive Director of Black Women in Executive Leadership (B-WEL). Prior to B-WEL, Wanjiru served as the inaugural Executive Director of Rise, a program for young leaders, at Schmidt Futures.  She joined Schmidt Futures from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) which works towards inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for the African continent by strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender responsive agricultural research and innovation.

Before AWARD, Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg founded and served as Executive Director of Akili Dada, an award-winning leadership incubator that invests in high-achieving young women from under-resourced families, who are passionate about driving change in their communities. She was also an assistant professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco and a lecturer in International Relations at Hekima College, a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Her academic research and teaching interests centered on African politics, gender, international relations, ethnicity, and democratization, and the role of technology in social activism.

Born in Kenya, Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg holds a PhD and an M.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) from Whitman College in Washington, U.S.A.

She has received widespread recognition for her work, including being honored as a White House Champion of Change by the Obama Administration, named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine, recognized as a Ford Foundation Champion of Democracy, awarded the United Nations Intercultural Innovation Award, and named one of Kenya’s Top 40 Women Under Age 40 and an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow. 

Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg is a member of the selection committee of the prestigious Africa Food Prize. She also serves on the Boards of the Autodesk Foundation, the Syngenta Foundation, and Landesa, the world’s largest land rights organization.  She sits on the Council of the African Climate Foundation, as well as on the Malabo Montpellier Panel, a high-level panel of independent experts that supports African governments and civil society to identify and implement policies that enhance agriculture, food and nutrition security across the continent.  Her service also includes educational institutions as a member of the President’s Advisory Board of Whitman College in the USA, and the International Advisory Board of the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn, Germany.

Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg is the Founder and Executive Director of Black Women in Executive Leadership (B-WEL). Prior to B-WEL, Wanjiru served as the inaugural Executive Director of Rise, a program for young leaders, at Schmidt Futures.  She joined Schmidt Futures from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) which works towards inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for the African continent by strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender responsive agricultural research and innovation.

Before AWARD, Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg founded and served as Executive Director of Akili Dada, an award-winning leadership incubator that invests in high-achieving young women from under-resourced families, who are passionate about driving change in their communities. She was also an assistant professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco and a lecturer in International Relations at Hekima College, a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Her academic research and teaching interests centered on African politics, gender, international relations, ethnicity, and democratization, and the role of technology in social activism.

Born in Kenya, Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg holds a PhD and an M.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) from Whitman College in Washington, U.S.A.

She has received widespread recognition for her work, including being honored as a White House Champion of Change by the Obama Administration, named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine, recognized as a Ford Foundation Champion of Democracy, awarded the United Nations Intercultural Innovation Award, and named one of Kenya’s Top 40 Women Under Age 40 and an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow. 

Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg is a member of the selection committee of the prestigious Africa Food Prize. She also serves on the Boards of the Autodesk Foundation, the Syngenta Foundation, and Landesa, the world’s largest land rights organization.  She sits on the Council of the African Climate Foundation, as well as on the Malabo Montpellier Panel, a high-level panel of independent experts that supports African governments and civil society to identify and implement policies that enhance agriculture, food and nutrition security across the continent.  Her service also includes educational institutions as a member of the President’s Advisory Board of Whitman College in the USA, and the International Advisory Board of the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn, Germany.